Absentee ballots preserve democracy
I am writing to express my concern about those who wish to do away with absentee ballots.
I am a senior citizen with disabilities. In view of the many problems that senior citizens have to deal with, including frailty, transportation and other problems, I believe that denying the rights to vote by mail to senior citizens and those with disabilities is an assault on the rights of all citizens to participate in our democracy. Denial of participation is also an assault on the rights of millions of single parents and caregivers who face overwhelming obstacles, and all who face scheduling and other difficulties.
I have voted via absentee ballot for much of my life. As someone who is registered with no party affiliation, I believe absentee voting should not be a partisan issue. We have had absentee voting here in Florida for years and yet we have a Republican governor, an overwhelmingly Republican Legislature, and both of the state’s U.S. senators are Republican.
Some in Tallahassee and our president himself have spoken of the need to do away with absentee balloting. Our president sometimes even seems to have agreed with the opinions of authoritarian rulers like Vladimir Putin, whose “democracy” seems to involve suppression of all voices with opinions that differ from his.
Andrew Janson DeBary
Nigeria isn’t just a distraction
Regarding Pat Beall’s Sunday column, “Who’s ready for the war in Nigeria?” I wonder if Pat Beall would ever consider making productive use of her column by writing about what is actually happening in Nigeria rather than using it as fodder in her political fight against Trump?
Allison Clark Altamonte Springs
Congress is shirking its duty
The Constitution outlines the job of of the members of Congress. Has any one of them discharged his or her duty recently?
Members on both sides of the aisle have come to act as if being a Republican or a Democrat is his or her job. There are scant few members of Congress who believe the legislation proposed by a member of the other party is worthy of any consideration. There is no independent thought, once the party affiliation of the author is found at the bottom of the bill.
Most Congress members perceive their full time job to be getting re-elected. The adulation, and for many the paycheck, takes precedence over the requirement that each contribute to the making of laws.
The fact that our lawmakers allowed our air traffic controllers to work without pay, at airports already understaffed, compromising the safety of flyers is nothing short of disgusting.
The next time one of my Congress members runs for re-election, I will ask them: what did you do in the fall of 2026 to prevent the government shutdown and thereafter to end it? I will likely not get a reply that satisfies me and I will likely vote for the challenger. You might say I am throwing out the baby with the bath water. To that I say, if you want to make an omelet, you have to break a few eggs.
William A. Greenberg Winter Springs
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